SaharaReporters reports that the Nigeria military had in November 1999 on the orders of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, levelled the Odi community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State as part of efforts to arrest some youths who murdered some policemen on a peace mission.
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) has appealed to the Nigerian military not to repeat the Odi massacre in the Okuama community in the quest to arrest the killers of the 17 personnel in the area.
SaharaReporters reports that the Nigeria military had in November 1999 on the orders of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, levelled the Odi community in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayelsa State as part of efforts to arrest some youths who murdered some policemen on a peace mission.
However, 25 years later, a repeat of the massacre was brewing in Okuama of Ewu Clan in Ughelli South LGA of Delta State over the killing of military personnel on an alleged peace mission is playing even as the Nigerian Army and the Community differ on the account of the incident.
SaharaReporters had reported that a Commanding Officer, two Majors, one Captain, and 12 soldiers of 181 Amphibious Battalion were killed by hoodlums in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state.
The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, who made this known in a statement on Saturday, said the military personnel were killed on Thursday while on a peace mission to the community.
But reacting to a statement on Tuesday, by the NAS Capoon, Mr Abiola Owoaje, decried the killing of the soldiers in the Okuama community by gunmen noting that their killing was an affront to the collective will of Nigerians.
Titled: "Okuama Bloodbath: Averting another Odi," Owoaje, stated that the arrest of those behind the killings and their prosecution and punishment must be in a manner prescribed by the laws.
While commiserating with the families of the dead soldiers and the Nigerian Army over the killings he implored the military to exercise caution in the quest to get justice for the fallen soldiers.
Owoaje specifically urged the military to resist the temptation of ‘’violent reprisals’’ and ‘’collective punishment," warning that those saddled with supervising the military operation should be cautious to avert another episode of Odi bombing.
The statement partly read: "The recourse to indiscriminate brute force would not only make innocent people of the area suffer because of the action of a few criminal elements, but it will also diminish the deaths of the gallant soldiers. A clinical operation which is intelligence-driven must be deployed to apprehend the culprits.
‘’More importantly, the federal government, in collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and without delay, must institute an independent probe to unravel the circumstances that led to the killing of the soldiers. This has become imperative following the recriminations between Urhobo and Ijaw leaders over the killings.
"The ethnic coloration being given to the killing by the Urhobo and Ijaw communities must be wholly rejected and the leaders of the two ethnic groups must desist from hasty, unguarded, and inflammatory utterances capable of escalating tension in the area.
‘’We urge community leaders in the area to demonstrate patriotism by enjoining their subjects to cooperate with the military authorities to identify the culprits for arrests to avoid collateral damage to the communities. Apprehending the killers must be a collective responsibility.’’